


Natsu & Lucy: The Letters of Love

by TheTinyFoxtail



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alphabet Challenge, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Nalu - Freeform, One-Shot, One-Shot Collection, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-03-19 22:49:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3627201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTinyFoxtail/pseuds/TheTinyFoxtail
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots revolving around our favorite Fairy Tail couple: Natsu and Lucy! 26 little one-shots for each letter of the alphabet, some might be fluffy, some might be angsty, and some might have some humor!</p>
<p>C- Candid - "Natsu be candid with me for a minute, is this... a date?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A-Adaptation

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Just a little collection of NaLu one-shots for an alphabet challenge. They're my OTP so why not? XP  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :D

Lucy swore she was never going to get used to it. Whether it was the excited squeals from Mira every time she and Natsu would walk into the guild, the teasing looks from Levy, or the shiver that would sweep down her spine when he randomly took her hand in his. She was never going to get used to it.

But right now, it was Mira's squealing that was causing her to flinch and reconsider entering the guild today. Maybe she should just stay home for a few days, relax, read a few books, and let all this "Natsu and Lucy" stuff blow over. Although if she knew her guild mates as well as she thought she did, it wouldn't blow over for a long long time.

Their Dragon Slayer had finally found a girl, and they all seemed ecstatic.

Lucy hadn't expected the reaction they had gotten when she and Natsu had first walked into the guild, hand in hand with smiles on their faces. They'd been extremely close for the entire time she had been with Fairy Tail, so in a way she wondered if they'd even notice. She had been so close to Natsu as a partner and a friend that she honestly wondered if some people thought they were already dating. But all of her thoughts about how they would react calmly were thrown out the window the instant those guild doors opened.

They had been swamped with a crowd of excited members, questions and excited whistles roaring out in the building. Lucy had jumped a mile; somehow able to resist the urge to clap her hands over her hears. It was deafening.

_"You two are holding hands!?"_

_"What happened?!"_

_"Did you two finally get together?!"_

_"Natsu and Lucy! I never thought I'd see the day!"_

_"You two are so cute!"_

_"Congrats, Natsu!"_

_"I'm surprised he could even feel an emotion like love. Nice one, Lucy! You're talented if you got this dense idiot to recognize his feelings!"_

Natsu of course had yelled at Gray for what seemed like hours after that comment. A guild war had broken out again, chairs and glasses flying everywhere as Lucy and Levy stood off to the side, watching the pile of fighting men (and Cana) from the edge, unamused looks on their faces.

And from that day onward it continued on the same way. Lucy could never spend any time in Fairy Tail without the girls teasing her and giggling to themselves, and the men patting her on the back in congratulations and sending a cat call her way. Of course the cat calls were meant in celebration, but Natsu never took them that way.

Lucy wasn't sure if she thought it was cute or a little hazardous when Natsu would stand up quickly, yelling out an 'oy' to whoever had whistled at her. It was cute, yes, exactly how possessive he was, and something about those times when he would defend her, or start a fight out of jealousy would make her blush. But it was also hazardous, and she had to apologize to Makarov on multiple occasions for the sudden increase in damages done to the building due to Natsu's almost constant fight with someone over something they'd said.

But all of that mess was overridden by her immense happiness. Lucy couldn't remember a time when she hadn't been in love with Natsu. Maybe the first day she'd met him, when he'd eaten like a pig, and distracted her from the fake Salamander. But from the instant he saved her on that boat, carting her off to Fairy Tail afterwards, she'd helplessly fallen, and hadn't exactly wanted help to get up.

She was in love with the dense one, as so many of the people called him. She was pretty sure every single person in the guild knew that she liked him, all that is except for Natsu himself. And although it frustrated her that every time she tried to show him how she felt, he'd stay up on his little cloud of oblivion; she wouldn't have it any other way. That was Natsu, the one she'd fallen in love with, even if it was far beyond exasperating.

She'd tried everything. She'd set up dinners for them, hoping maybe he'd figure out somehow she saw it as a date. Instead he ended up eating the restaurant out of food and complaining to the waiter that it was too dark. She'd dressed up in her most revealing outfit she could imagine, hoping that maybe something primal in him would be activated. Instead he had frowned, telling her she was going to be cold if she didn't put on something with more fabric. She'd pulled out every trick up her sleeve she could think of, and he hadn't picked up on it even once.

So she'd decided to give up. About a week ago she'd decided 'to hell with it'. He was oblivious, that was Natsu, that's who he was, and she couldn't change that, no matter how much she wanted to. So she'd resigned to a life of helpless fawning over a boy that only saw her as a friend.

And the next day was when it happened. Lucy wasn't sure if it was a coincidence, or if Natsu had been waiting for the day that she stopped trying so hard, but either way she was glad she'd finally given up on trying to get him to recognize how she felt, because he did it on his own. All on his own. Oblivious little Natsu had felt the feeling of love, for her, all on his own.

He was perched on her bed, his eyes flicking around the room erratically and his face beet red when she'd come home. It was a normal site, and it didn't surprise her, however his nervousness did. Usually he was stretched out on her bed snoring away with his little blue cat snoring almost as loudly next to him, but that day he was sitting on the edge, his feet tapping and Happy nowhere to be found.

Before Lucy'd had the chance to ask Natsu what was the matter he'd sprung up from her mattress, grabbing both of her arms and yanking her into a hug. She'd stood, petrified in his grasp, her eyes wide and her heart hammering away in her chest. She'd been confused. Why was he hugging her? He'd never hugged her like this before. Oh Mavis did someone die? Her thoughts spiraled helplessly in her head as he stayed still, his warm breath hitting the top of her head in little puffs and his heart pounding against her own chest.

Once again before she had the chance to ask him what was going on, he beat her to the punch. He'd stuttered and stumbled over his words for a while before taking a deep breath and blurting out, _"I like you, Luce. Like… love you, Luce."_

Lucy swore her entire world came sputtering to a halt after those two sentences. She'd dreamed of him saying that more times than she could even count and yet she'd never predicted it would actually happen. He loved her. Those feeling she had for him, he had for her.

After the hug ended, a very long conversation commenced. Lucy and Natsu talked about everything. They started at the beginning, Lucy telling him she felt the same, and asking him why he had told her now. It turned out little dense Natsu wasn't so dense after all, and had felt that way about her just about as long as she'd felt that way about him.

Their conversation took a waltz down both of the paths they had taken. Lucy told Natsu about all the things she'd done in hopes of getting him to notice, and Natsu had told her about how he had misinterpreted them. Those dinners that she nonchalantly invited him to, he believed were meant for someone else, and she had brought him as a backup. When she'd dressed up in her revealing outfits he noticed them, yes, and was more than a little afraid that other men would see her that way, but he'd never thought about the possibility that they were for him.

He also told her about exactly how afraid he was to confess to her, and she had had to work very hard to keep from laughing. She knew Natsu had no need to be nervous to tell her how he felt, but apparently he had been shaking in his boots for the nearly months now that he'd been trying to get up the courage.

After they had seemingly talked about everything regarding their newfound relationship, they turned to other topics. Lucy had climbed into bed next to Natsu and they'd stared at the ceiling, talking about everything from childhood memories to what kind of dressing they liked on their salads. Lucy had never had a heart to heart conversation with Natsu like the one she'd had that night. She'd never felt as close to Natsu as she had that night, after they confessed their biggest dreams and most crippling fears.

And the next morning when they'd walked into the guild, their fingers intertwined and a contented smile on both of their faces was when all of the excitement started.

Even though it'd been a week, nothing had changed. If anything, Lucy believed that her guild mates' exhilaration had gotten even louder. At first she was embarrassed, but after a while it just came to be a little bit of an annoyance. So much teasing and congratulations and noise, all over their relationship. Sometimes she wished she could just drag Natsu into a little compartment where they could finally have some peace and quiet and time to themselves. To make matters worse, Gray and Erza seemed more than happy to stay at the guild, and weren't clamoring for any jobs, which meant staying in the guild even longer. The thought crossed Lucy's mind of going on a job with Natsu, however he seemed just as happy to stay at home in the guild than go out on a mission.

She'd told herself to get used to it, to adapt to the noise and conversation about them. It was going to be the new normal, however she just couldn't. And now, as Mira skipped happily toward the door, a larger than life smile on her face, Lucy sighed to herself. She was never going to get used to this.

"Hi lovebirds," Mira chirped happily, "You two hungry?"

"Starving!" Natsu replied, marching after Mira as the white-haired barista turned on her heel, mentioning that she'd be out with food in a bit.

Lucy was dragged helplessly behind Natsu, her hand still firmly in his grasp as he stalked over to their usual table and plopped down, patting the seat next to him. She obliged, sliding into the seat and trying to avert her gaze from any of the other members.

Erza, Gray, and Levy were sitting at the table. Erza polishing one of her swords, Gray eating away on a plate of pasta Mira had already given him, and Levy staring dreamily over at Lucy and Natsu. And of course Juvia was standing in the background, cheering _'Gray-sama'_ on because _'he could eat pasta faster than anyone!'_.

Levy sighed, "You two are lucky. Lu-chan, you must tell me how you got him to recognize his feelings. Gajeel could use some help with that." Lucy gave her a sympathetic smile as the blue-haired female peered over her shoulder at her Dragon Slayer in the corner, his lip curled as he took a bite into a sheet of iron, his eyes holding some sort of amusement as he watched Natsu bounce in his seat, eagerly awaiting his meal.

"I'm sure he will soon," Lucy smiled, "I was sure Natsu was never going to realize a damn thing, but he came around. I think this one is more oblivious than that one," Lucy said, jabbing a finger at Natsu first, and then Gajeel.

Levy sighed again, "I sure hope so."

Mira sauntered up to their table a second later, placing a heaping plate of spaghetti in between Natsu and Lucy. "It's all we really have today," she said, wiping her hands off on her apron, "Enjoy it you two!"

Natsu shrugged, diving into the plate of pasta hand-first without taking the time to grab his fork.

"Oy, Salamander," Lucy heard Gajeel grunt from the corner, "You have a girlfriend now, eat a little more lady-like," he smirked, chuckling to himself.

Natsu stopped mid noodle slurp, his eyes flicking to Gajeel's corner. "What was that?" he asked, his words slurred pitifully because of the pasta.

Gajeel shrugged, "Just sayin'. Your masculinity'll be out the window soon; I wouldn't be surprised if you two lovebirds came in wearing matching sweaters tomorrow." Gajeel shamelessly guffawed at his own joke then and Natsu's eyes narrowed. Lucy shrunk a little in her seat. Here he went again.

Natsu stood up from the table abruptly, the plate jumping on the table due to the impact. "Why don't you get over here so I can kick your ass! I'll show you what masculinity is, you pansy!"

Gajeel then shoved out of his table with a shout and Lucy knew for sure they were going to start a guild-wide fight again. Levy shrunk a little lower in embarrassment too.

Natsu marched out from the table and into the center of the guild, just in time to hold up a finger in remembrance and quickly jog back over to Lucy's side. He bent down, giving her a quick peck on the cheek and grinning to himself in pride. "I don't really like sweaters but if you wanted to wear matching ones I guess I could give it a try," he said, nodding to her before promptly dashing back out into the guild and sending a blast of fire Gajeel's way.

Lucy blinked, her back straight as a board as she watched the fight, her mind eons away. He'd kissed her. Granted it was on the cheek but still; he'd never done anything like that before. And it felt wonderful.

She couldn't help but smile and blush to herself as she brought a finger up to touch the place his lips had met her skin. She thought she wouldn't be able to get used to the guild's excitement? Well, she just found one thing that she thought would take much longer to adapt to.


	2. B: Backbone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had to admit she had some strength to stand up to the lion for that long. Maybe he could take a note from her book and get some courage of his own.

Gray's laugh was really annoying him. Not that it didn't normally annoy him, but today it seemed even more grating. Natsu scrunched his nose and glared over at the ice bastard with hate. Usually he would snap at him to shut up, followed by a very prompt fist-fight, but today he didn't have it in him. Because starting a fight would mean taking his eyes off of the intriguingly sickening sight across the room.

Natsu snorted in irritation before turning his gaze back to the scene he'd been watching for the past hour. _An hour_. Loke'd been at it for _an entire hour_. 

Natsu snarled to himself as he watched the lion smirk down seductively at the blonde sitting on the barstool next to him. He reached down toward Lucy, placing a finger underneath her chin and tilting her head to look at him. Lucy frowned before smacking his hand away and muttering something which Natsu couldn't hear. Gray let out another round of guffaws at this.

Natsu's hand clenched into a fist, "Would you shut it?" he asked impatiently, his eyes flicking to Gray and then back to Loke. The lion hadn't been deterred in the least, instead leaning in even closer.

Gray snorted, "Why, you don't find this entertaining?" he asked, gesturing over at Lucy as she glared at Loke before lightly pushing him away from her.

"No," Natsu replied shortly. No, he didn't find this entertaining. He found it beyond annoying. This act that Loke had was getting old. Very old. The lion hit on his master every day, and because he was strong enough to summon himself, he didn't leave when she told him to. Instead he stayed, taking her rejection easily and trying again.

"Aw c'mon, Flame Brain, this is hilarious. Look at her face… look at _his_ face!" Gray let out another laugh, leaning back in his seat and laughing at the ceiling.

Natsu frowned deeply. Those two things were what was bothering him. Loke was so smooth, so romantic; he could so easily sway women, and so that look on his face was really getting on Natsu's nerves. He hadn't paid much attention to Lucy's expression, mainly because he was a bit afraid he'd find some sort of compliance. How long could she take the continued assaults before she gave into him? Natsu was afraid it wasn't much longer.

And for some reason that made him angry. Why was that? Was he angry because Loke was basically pestering Lucy into dating him? Was it because Natsu, as Lucy's friend, wanted her to date someone because she liked him, not because she wanted the guy to leave her alone? No, that wasn't it. Natsu didn't like it because he couldn't do what Loke was doing, and it killed him inside.

Of course the Dragon Slayer would never admit it. He couldn't charm women; it just wasn't something he did. He knew that if he tried he'd probably make a fool of himself and that was the _last_ thing he wanted to do with the guild watching, so he had kept to himself.

He wanted to get up the courage to walk over to Lucy and talk to her like Loke was. Tell her how pretty she was and that he wanted to take her out on a date. Yes, those were the things he wanted to say. But he had never done so, his inexperience with women and his crippling fear of being rejected always keeping him away.

So instead he kept as her friend and partner, glaring from across the guild whenever Loke would pop up out of thin air on Friday nights, holding out his hand and asking his master, whom he called _'Princess'_ if she wanted to have dinner with him. Every single Friday night he would appear, and every single Friday night Natsu would sulk.

Lucy had never accepted Loke's offers, and for that Natsu was grateful; but he wasn't sure when that defiance would come to a close. Eventually she'd give into him, wouldn't she? They were close, very close, and Natsu figured that somewhere maybe _he_ even thought they would be good together.

He clenched his teeth. Maybe they were good together, but surely he was better. _He_ was the closest to Lucy, and so surely he was the best suitor for her. But instead of gaining the courage to ask, he sat, watching as his only chances slowly spiraled down the drain. If she gave into Loke before he ever bit down his pride and asked her, he would have lost before he even began.

A few times he'd stood up with confidence, his fists clenched at his sides as he stalked toward her and that lion. He had visions of shoving Loke away and asking Lucy the exact same question the lion just had, except she accepted his offer and had declined her spirit's. Yes, Natsu would ask Lucy out on a date right in front of Loke and she'd accept and he'd have won.

But when he'd hit the halfway point across the room he'd chickened out. Sure he could ask her, but he could never ask her like Loke did. Loke'd brush a chunk of hair out of her face, caressing her cheek before proposing in a husky voice that they should get out of there and do something more exciting. Natsu didn't know how to do that. How would he even go about coming up with something enticing like that?

He'd gone over options in his head, none of which sounded quite right. _'Hey Luce, get out of here.' 'Let's go someplace darker, I can't see you.' 'Wanna go get dinner, it's hot tonight.'_ Nothing ever sounded right, his words and phrases jumbling with each other until they no longer made any sense.

So even if one day he got the courage to walk over there and ask her, he wouldn't be able to get the words out. He had no idea how to romance a girl, and if he went over there and made a fool of himself, he worried Lucy would laugh. She would laugh and then agree to go to dinner with Loke after she realized what bumbling idiots other guys were. That would be the worst.

Gray let out another round of laughs and suddenly Natsu couldn't handle it anymore. Without taking his eyes off of Loke and Lucy at the bar he stretched out his right arm, punching Gray square in the cheek. The ice mage tumbled off of the bench and Natsu couldn't help but smile to himself at the thud he heard. It had sounded painful.

"Oy," Gray groaned. Natsu could feel him scrambling to his feet beside him but didn't turn, his eyes instead narrowing at Loke's latest advance. He'd touched her lips. She'd violently smacked him away, shouting a nearly incoherent, _"Wh-St-Why-St-Don't do that!"_ Natsu was glad that she had again rejected him, except her stumbling made him think that maybe she was just embarrassed.

Natsu froze. He'd never thought about _that_ before. Maybe Lucy was telling Loke 'no' only because she was embarrassed. Maybe she really did like him but was too bashful to admit it. That added another layer to Nastu's worry and he collapsed face-first onto the table with a groan.

Gray plopped down on the bench next to him and glared down at the back of his head. "What's with you?" he asked, "Making fun of Loke's rejection is great; you should try it."

Natsu shook his head slowly, "Dun wanna," he sighed, closing his eyes. There was a long and suspicious pause from the idiot beside him and he began to worry. What was Gray thinking? Silence was never a good thing.

After a few minutes he heard an amused snort from the ice bastard. "You're worried she's gonna give in, aren't you," Gray sneered.

Natsu shot up in his seat and glared over at Gray. It was true, but he'd never admit it. Although Natsu figured that his furious expression had given him away as Gray's sneer grew into a full-blown smile. Natsu briefly noticed that Gray had somehow lost his shirt between the time he'd faceplanted into the table and now. Now was _not_ the time for stripping.

Gray's smile faded as he shook his head in what looked to be exasperation, "Don't worry, man. Look at her," he said, sloppily gesturing over to the bar.

Natsu followed Gray's gaze hesitantly. She looked the same as she gave Loke a disbelieving look as he once again tried to swoop in for a kiss. "Yeah, what about her?"

Gray sighed, "Does that look like the face of a girl who wants to go on a date with him?"

Natsu squinted at Lucy's face, "I don't know. Is it?" he asked quickly, looking back to Gray with a sense of panic. Natsu knew he didn't know much about romance, but was he really dense enough to not recognize enjoyment. He thought Lucy looked a bit annoyed but maybe to others she looked like she really liked Loke. That would be the worst.

Gray gave him a disbelieving look before shaking his head, "No, you idiot, she looks like she wants to throw herself off a cliff. She doesn't like him like that, calm down."

Natsu frowned at Gray, "Okay, say she doesn't. Eventually she's gonna give into him. He's been pestering her about dinner for an hour already and he isn't showing signs of stopping," he hissed, "She's gonna hit her limit soon."

That was when Gray burst out laughing again, that bastard. "Give Lucy more credit," Gray chuckled. "She's got backbone. I think he'd have to mess with her for much longer than a few hours before she would give in."

Natsu eyed him carefully with suspicion. Was the bastard serious, or was he just deceiving him? He squinted at Gray harder and the ice mage shrugged. "Whatever, don't believe me. Just sayin' she's stronger than you'd think."

Natsu's gaze wandered back to the blonde at the bar who had her cheeks puffed out and her hands on her hips as she glared up at Loke. Maybe Gray was right. Maybe she was strong enough to stand up to Loke for a long time, maybe even forever. But that still didn't help with the fact that he didn't have a backbone of his own. Maybe she had one, but he didn't.

Almost as if Gray had read his mind, the dark haired male spoke up. "Hey, she may reject him, but if I were you I'd give it a shot. It's worth a try."

Natsu didn't look back at Gray; out of embarrassment over the fact that he really _did_ want to approach her, or because he was afraid of the mocking look he'd inevitably find on the ice mage's face, he wasn't sure. He'd never listened to Gray in the past, he shouldn't now. But he couldn't deny exactly how much Gray's words were making sense. He should just do it. Don't think too much about it; just do it.

"Hey wait," Natsu heard Gray say quickly as he stood up from his seat abruptly. "What're you doing?"

Natsu looked down at his rival and smiled a bit, "Taking your advice. If this goes badly, I'm blaming you." He turned on his heel and began stalking over toward the bar. He'd blame Gray if she said no or if he stumbled over his words and made a fool of himself. He'd blame the ice bastard externally, but he'd beat himself up internally. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that he was going to actually do this, and do it now.

He stomped over to the bar, words and ways to ask Lucy swirling around in his head. He barely even noticed it when Loke looked over his shoulder as he heard Natsu's loud stomps, instead shoving the lion out of the way once he had reached the bar and steeling his gaze against Lucy's surprised eyes.

"Natsu?" she asked, blinking twice.

He took a deep breath to steady himself, and instead of trying one of Loke's fancy tactics, he tried his own. He told her straightforward. "Lucy, have dinner with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note: This is the first of a two-shot. B and C are parts one and two, so C will be a continuation of this! I hope you enjoy! :D


	3. C - Candid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Natsu, be candid with me for a minute. Is this... a date?"

She stared. "Eh?" Her surprised squeak was barely loud enough to hear. "Have dinner with you?" She stared in disbelief as Natsu frowned, his eyes flitting back and forth, resting on anything in the guild aside from her. Surely she'd heard him wrong… right? Natsu? Asking for dinner? It was crazy. Not that she hadn't thought about how exciting it'd be to go on a dinner date with him, but it just seemed so… sudden.

"Yeah. Have dinner with me, Luce," he repeated. It was less of a question and more of a statement.

Once again she blinked stupidly at him as Loke peered around the back of Natsu's head with a look of surprise that rivaled her own. Her mouth opened and closed stupidly for a second, unable to find the right words to respond.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Natsu grumbled, slouching over in defeat and she quickly held up her hands to stop him.

"No, no, no, I'd love to go to dinner with you Natsu… it just surprised me…," she said slowly. She'd almost missed her chance. She in fact had daydreamed about Natsu asking her out more times than she would like to admit but when it'd actually happened she'd been shocked silent long enough that he'd almost mistaken her silence for rejection. Although honestly she still couldn't believe it. This had to be some sort of joke.

Natsu's face lit up immediately, his eyes smiling at her as he nodded. "Really? Ya will, Luce?"

She smiled in amusement. "Yeah, sure." He looked thrilled and it was a welcomed sight. He grinned at her for a second more before pumping a fist into the air, puffing out his chest, and turning to walk away.

"Alright! I'll go get Happy! Let's eat!"

Lucy's mouth turned into a small 'o' as she sighed in realization. That's why he'd asked for dinner. It wasn't a date; he just wanted to eat out as a team. She couldn't deny that she was a little depressed. She'd gotten her hopes up for a second that perhaps Natsu wasn't as dense as he seemed and he'd somehow realized those feelings for her that she hoped he had. But then again… this was Natsu she was talking about and him asking her out on a date?... that seemed a little far-fetched.

She turned back to Loke, her heart aching lightly but still excited for the meal ahead. He looked still a little shocked, now mixed with a bit of hurt.

She gave him a small smile. "Sorry. Team Dinner, y'know."

He frowned. "I've been asking you out for a meal for… almost an hour now and he comes up and you accept in a few seconds? I have to admit, I'm hurt Lucy." He stuck out his bottom lip in a faux pout and she laughed.

"Don't take it personally. You know I'd eat with you if it _wasn't_ a date."

Loke raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. "That doesn't make me feel much better," he sighed, bowing slightly and disappearing in a puff of smoke. Lucy knew he'd most likely be pouting all night about the rejection; she just hoped he wouldn't take it too hard. She did love him, but not in the way he wanted. But hey, maybe Aries could cheer him up; she was sure they had some sort of spark after all.

It appeared Natsu had found Happy because he came marching back in and over to her stool. Man, he really did look thrilled to be going to dinner. He must be incredibly hungry.

"Happy said he'd catch up with us at the restaurant. He's talking with Carla," Natsu said, stepping a foot back and allowing Lucy to hop off her stool.

Lucy nodded and briefly wondered if Happy was making any progress with Carla since it appeared her relationship with Natsu wasn't going anywhere fast. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of dinner alone with Natsu but she reigned back in her thoughts quickly. No. This wasn't a date in Natsu's eyes. No matter how much she wished it was; it wasn't.

She wouldn't ever admit she… liked… Natsu. She knew a few guild members had it all figured out. Hell, Levy had her pegged from the first day they'd met. Mira as well, always doing her best to give Lucy a "good luck wink" as she called them, before she and Natsu went out on a job. It sounded childish to have a crush on her partner, but that's exactly what she had.

Although she quickly figured out that having a crush on Natsu Dragneel wasn't the same as having a crush on a normal guy. Natsu was innocent, had a one-track mind on battling and having fun, and was very naïve. So naïve in fact, that there was no way Lucy could even fathom him putting an emotional label on whatever kind of relationship they had. He loved everyone, but he didn't know how to be _in_ love with someone. She'd given up quite a long time ago on getting him to realize how she felt, instead telling herself that friendship and being his partner was enough. And it was, but she dreamed of the day there'd be something more.

And so Natsu suddenly asking out of the blue about dinner had rekindled all of those thoughts of dates and love she'd had such a long time ago. But still… this wasn't a date if Happy was there. For all she knew he'd invited Erza and Gray too.

Natsu led the way, strutting like a proud peacock to the front of the guild and shoving the large wooden doors open. Lucy vaguely heard Mira's giggle from behind the bar but didn't turn back, instead trying to make herself as small as possible as she slipped out the door behind Natsu.

This was just a team dinner but she could already feel the teasing she'd undoubtedly be receiving from her friends the next day.

The guild doors shut behind them with a deep thud and Lucy looked up to the sky. When had it gotten so late? Loke really had been at it for a long time, hadn't he? It was cool outside, crickets chirping as the stars began to show their faces in the night sky. A perfect setting for a date.

But this wasn't a date.

"So where should we eat, Luce?" Natsu asked, crossing his arms behind his head and looking back to her with excitement.

"Hmm…," she pondered, looking up and down the road. "There's a new restaurant a few blocks from here called 'The Fairies' Den'. Named after our guild of course. It's gotten some good ratings lately; I've actually been wanting to go."

Natsu clapped. "Alright! Sounds like the place to go! Nothin' can be bad if it's inspired by our guild," he chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets and waiting for her to lead the way.

She nodded, stepping forward a bit nervously. She hoped she remembered where it was. She'd read a review on the restaurant after it'd first opened and she'd been curious ever since. It was apparently a bit fancy; probably fancier than most of the guild members, including Natsu, cared for, but the food looked delicious and the atmosphere of the place sounded even more intriguing. She hadn't eaten at a fancy restaurant since she was little and while no, it didn't exactly bring back the best of memories, she still missed having top-notch food every once in a while.

They were dipped into silence, the only sound being their footsteps on the cobblestone beneath them and what seemed to be shouts and music from a party somewhere over towards the east side of Magnolia. The townspeople sure knew how to have some fun. Although, they did have a guild in their city who knew how to have maybe a little _too_ much fun, setting an example.

She snorted at the thought.

"What?" Natsu asked, sounding a little worried.

She waved a hand to dismiss him. "Nothing." He peered over at her, his eyebrows knitted and she figured it'd be best to start up some sort of conversation before they got there. "So, ever been to a five star restaurant, Natsu?" she asked with a grin. For someone who loved food as much as he did she could only imagine how much of a heyday he'd have.

He shook his head. "Five stars? Nope. Barely even been to a restaurant in general."

Lucy stared. "W-what?"

He shrugged, looking ahead. "I dunno. I mean I eat at the guild, and Happy and I fish, and I kinda find stuff as I go but honestly I haven't been out to each much. Actually," he said, pointing a finger at her, "… that meal at that little café after we met, the one where you paid? Yeah, that was my first time in a restaurant."

"It was?!" Lucy nearly screeched, her jaw dropping. He was nearly grown and yet that'd been the first time he'd ever been out to eat? No less with her? She'd actually been there to witness it and she hadn't even known? He'd acted so normal… well… normal for Natsu. He'd stuffed his face, making a mess without a care in the world. She never would've guessed it was his first time.

Natsu grinned. "Yeah, Igneel raised me and y'know… ya can't exactly just waltz into places with a dragon so he taught me how to catch my own food. After that I went pretty much straight into Fairy Tail and Mira's cooked me my meals ever since. It's good though. She's got some real magical hands there."

Lucy swore she spotted a drop of drool slowly dribbling down from his mouth but disregarded it. It made sense when he put it like that. Sometimes she forgot he'd been raised out in the middle of nowhere by a dragon. He was so normal it was hard to believe. But in other aspects she guessed it was glaringly obvious.

"Well then, let's enjoy tonight and I'll show you what kinds of meals _I_ grew up on." At the mention, Natsu's face lit up and Lucy's heart warmed a bit. She was so interested about Natsu's past that it made her truly happy to see that he was just as interested in hers.

She stopped, gesturing out to their left and to a squatty building. "Here we are." Natsu looked up at it and nodded slowly.

"Looks normal enough," he said. Although, Lucy definitely spotted drool this time. Undoubtedly he was already pigging out on a schmorgeshbord of food in his mind.

It was a small building, wooden and rustic-looking. It had 'The Fairies' Den' inscribed on the side in dark blue metal letters, and a small staircase in the front leading up to the door.

Natsu was already a step ahead, jogging over to the stairs and taking them two at a time. Lucy nearly had to run to keep up. He threw open the glass door with a smile nearly overtaking his face and began to walk in… and stopped. The door hit the back of his foot and he slowly backed up, staring at her with wide eyes as he pushed open the door. "Y-you first?"

It was much more of a question than a statement but it was enough to make Lucy cough in surprise and nearly fall backwards down the flight of stairs. He'd offered to let her go first… Natsu… the one who had to be first in everything he did; whether it was in some sort of race or who got drunk faster he'd always make sure he was the first, and the winner. Was this… chivalry? Did Natsu even know what the word chivalrous meant?

Instead of blubbering incoherently to herself while she tried to sort through whatever the hell kind of nice gesture he was giving her she bowed stiffly and walked through the doorway like a robot, muttering a stray 'thanks', as she passed.

This was not real. He'd opened the door for her. Although, he was probably just not used to restaurants like this so he'd wanted her to go first since she knew what she was doing. This wasn't a date. That's right; this wasn't a date so there was no need to overthink his… door-holding gesture. But man, that'd been weird.

The sound of clinking silverware and wine glasses met her ears and for a minute it felt like home. She hadn't been in a restaurant this nice in… what felt like forever. Luckily the restaurant was still new enough that not too many people had checked it out, and therefore she figured they'd be able to get in easily without a restervation.

"Party of two, oh and outdoor seating if you have it," Lucy said quickly as a girl in a uniform rushed up to greet them. She could feel Natsu nervously rocking behind her as the woman grabbed two menus and gestured for them to follow her.

They weaved in and out of tables filled with chattering couples, talking as they ate together in candlelight with airy music playing in the background.

The main reason Lucy'd wanted to come to this restaurant in the first place was the balcony seating they had. Apparently it was a view to remember, and as the waitress led them outside and onto a wooden deck overlooking Magnolia's river, Lucy could vouch for how beautiful it was.

The woman set the menus down on a small table by the railing and nodded with a smile. "If you need anything else just let us know."

Lucy wanted to be completely overtaken with the view but she had to admit she was a little more intrigued by Natsu. After the door incident she half expected him to pull out her chair –which would've felt so, so weird- but he didn't, and she was oddly relieved and yet disappointed.

He plopped down in the far chair and Lucy slowly sat down in the other. He sat up eagerly, looking out across the sparkling bay water and whistling in admiration.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Lucy sighed, following his gaze out onto the river. The moon reflected off of the surface, along with the stars, creating an otherworldly and yet gorgeous glow. The sound of the steadily rushing water only added to the atmosphere, and if Lucy hadn't been chanting over and over again to herself that this wasn't a date, she would've marveled at how romantic it was.

"Sure is," Natsu nodded, peeling his eyes from the view and instead eagerly taking his menu. He scoured its contents with his tongue hanging out of his mouth in concentration. Yep, he was drooling. There was just nothing but pure excitement when it came to Natsu and food.

Lucy watched in amusement as he flipped the pages with the precision of someone disarming a bomb. It looked like he believed his life calling had been in menu-reading and he seemed to take it very, very seriously. Much more seriously than any of the jobs they went on together. She could only imagine how excited he'd get if the menu had pictures in it. Maybe Natsu hadn't been in many restaurants in his lifetime but apparently knew how it worked. At least the pick out your food part.

After he'd read the menu cover-to-cover, during which their waitress had brought them a glass of water and asked about other drinks –which Natsu didn't even hear, he was so engrossed- and Lucy told her to come back in a minute when her date had finished memorizing the encyclopedia of food, he shut it with a snap and looked up with a smile. "It all looks good. I'll have one of each."

Her eyes bugged. She'd already seen the menu in the paper and chosen what she'd be getting. "One of each?" she repeated. "Natsu I don't know about you but I definitely don't have enough money for that," she laughed. Her stomach did a flip-flop at the thought of that much money going towards anything but her rent. Speaking of rent she was running late on that…

Natsu cocked his head to the side. "Why; how much does it cost?"

Lucy opened her own menu and swiveled it around to face him. "See these little numbers down below each item? That's how many jewels it costs."

Natsu looked as if he'd seen a ghost and slowly slouched in his chair. "O-oh Mavis," he breathed. "I thought those were calories or something." And in less than a second he'd rebounded, slapping a hand on the table and pointing a finger at Lucy. "I'll have steak!"

She jumped in her seat at his volume, the patrons at surrounding tables giving the couple weird looks. She gave them an awkward smile and wave and turned back to Natsu with a sigh. "That's great; tell our waitress."

Natsu nodded. "Ooh, right."

And as if summoned on cue their waitress bustled up to the table, smiling and setting a crystal clear bottle of white wine in between them.

"Oh, oh no we didn't order that," Lucy said. Once again her stomach sank at the thought of _that_ many jewels going toward food. She could practically pay half a month's rent with just what that bottle of wine cost.

"Oh, compliments of the gentleman at the bar," the waitress smiled, standing to the side and gesturing back into the building toward where Lucy assumed the bar was. She squinted and finally made out which "gentleman" the woman had been referring to, and Lucy went pale.

Laxus was sitting at the bar, drinking idly. He caught her gaze and sent her a wink that she _knew_ meant he thought she and Natsu were here on a date and he was wishing them good luck. And if she knew Laxus as well as she thought she did, there were probably some much dirtier thoughts going on in that big head of his as well. She blushed a dark shade of crimson and violently shook her head, drawing her hand across her neck, trying to let him know that no, this wasn't a date, Happy just hadn't shown up yet and so it looked that way.

"Oh hey, oh hey it's Laxus!" Natsu grinned, leaning back in his chair to get a better look. He cupped his hands to his mouth, "Hey Laxus-"

"Shhh!" Lucy hissed, leaning forward and grabbing his hand to pull him back towards the table. She was already embarrassed enough knowing that their resident lightning mage would probably be blabbing to Mira about their "date" and then Lucy knew it would all spread like wildfire. And if rumors in Fairy Tail spread like she knew they did, there'd probably be a juicy one going on about them already having a baby on the way. Things really escalated quickly when it came to rumors in their guild.

Laxus sent Lucy another nod along with a look that said, 'you got a real winner there', before turning back to busy himself with his drink.

The waitress cleared her throat, looking a little unnerved by the exchange that'd happened. "A-are you two ready to order?"

"Yeah!" Natau looked as if he'd completely forgotten about Laxus now as he whipped open his menu again and pointed to an item. "That."

The woman nodded, "The filet mignon, a fine choice sir. How would you like it cooked?"

Natsu stared up at her as if she'd just spoken in another language. "How would I like it cooked? Like… on a grill. You guys have one of those right? I mean, if you don't I can just do it myself."

It was the waitress' turn to stare at Natsu like _he'd_ just spoken in another language. "I'm sorry, sir?" she asked.

Lucy waved a hand to stop both of them. "Natsu she meant how cooked do you want it not literally what it was cooked on, and no, you can't cook it yourself at the table-" Natsu opened his mouth to protest and undoubtedly ask why, and Lucy held up a finger to stop him. "There are so many reasons why. And he'll have it medium-rare. That's his favorite." She smiled sweetly as the waitress looked back and forth from her to Natsu and then back again and slowly scribbled his order down on her notepad.

"A-and for you?"

Lucy opened her menu. "Should we have waited for Happy?" she asked Natsu before pointing to her choice. "Grilled salmon with a smoked apricot glaze, and green beans on the side please," she smiled.

The waitress nodded and took both of their menus, reassuring them it'd be out shortly. Lucy swore she heard the waitress mumbling to herself about needing to get more sleep as she walked away.

"Naw," Natsu coughed awkwardly. "W-we didn't need to wait for Happy. H-he can order… when he gets here. It'll be… warm that way. Yeah, wouldn't want his food to get cold," he laughed.

She stared at him for a moment and she swore he began to sweat under the pressure of her gaze. He was looking around aimlessly, trying his best not to look straight at her. Natsu never stuttered. When he did it was because he was lying. Honestly, she'd only seen that once and he'd been flustered beyond belief. Was he… flustered? Why would he be? If he was lying, that meant Happy wasn't coming. Why would he be flustered about that?

Lucy's heart thumped wildly for a moment. Unless that meant he really did want to have dinner alone with her… aka a date. He really had wanted a date, a date, a _date_. No. _'Calm down, Lucy'_ , she thought loudly. This _wasn't_ a date. Even if Happy wasn't coming, it was probably because Natsu had asked but he'd been busy, or maybe he'd just eaten and wasn't hungry. Not a date. She shouldn't get her hopes up.

She reigned in her thoughts and sighed. "Happy isn't coming, is he."

Natsu guiltily looked up to her with a half-smile fakely plastered onto his face before shaking his head. "Sorry."

Lucy patted his hand on the table and shook her head, reaching for the open bottle of wine. "You don't need to be sorry, Natsu. But I _am_ confused as to why you didn't tell me."

Natsu studied her face carefully as she poured them each a small glass of alcohol before answering. "'cause I thought you wouldn't want to go."

Lucy made a face, handing Natsu a glass. He smelled it, his nose crinkling before he took a sip. His eyes squinted and he moved his tongue around in his mouth animatedly. It was obvious he'd only been exposed to beer before. "Why wouldn't I want to go if Happy wasn't going?" she nearly snorted.

Natsu set his glass down, his eyes glued to the table and his demeanor suddenly very quiet as she took a sip of her own. He picked at something on the tablecloth before mumbling, "Because you said no to Loke's offer."

As much as Lucy knew Natsu had troubles with reading people's reactions, she had to admit _she_ was having a little trouble of her own with him tonight. He was acting funny. He'd been so damn serious when he'd literally _told_ her to go to dinner with him, then he'd been off-his-rocker happy about it, then he'd _opened a door_ for her which she hadn't even known was anywhere in his repertoire, then he'd been a hyper normal Natsu, and then this… whatever this was. Was he pouting? Was he… embarrassed? She couldn't tell what he was feeling, or even think of a reason as to why he'd be acting like this.

She scoffed. "I said no to Loke because he'd wanted to go on a date," she clarified. She thought surely that would've made it all better. Natsu wanted to go to dinner with her and had been worried she'd say no if it was the two of them, but if she let him know the only reason she'd said no to Loke was because he'd thought it was a date, Natsu should feel better right? Natsu didn't want a date so it'd be fine. He'd realize that she was up for dinner with him anytime, Happy or not, because they were friends.

That'd been her thinking and she'd thought it was sound, but his expression turned even more depressed and he nodded at the table. "O-oh, yeah, alright."

What the hell?

Natsu was down and out sad, wasn't he? What on earthland was going on? Lucy looked around herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She wasn't.

She stared at her pink-haired companion who was now drawing shapes into the table as he slouched. Why was he so melancholy all of a sudden? That should've cleared everything up. The only reason he could've possibly been upset by that statement was if he'd thought this to be a date, or hoped it to be, and she'd dashed his hopes in saying that she didn't think it was.

No, that wasn't how it worked. Natsu was the one to dash _her_ hopes in thinking it was a date, not the other way around. Although, as she wracked her brain she couldn't believe it but that was the only option she could think of…

Holy crap was this a date?

There was just no way that could be the case. But honestly why else would he say Happy was coming and then have him not show up? Maybe she'd watched too many cheesy romance movies but she swore men or women only did that if they wanted to get the person they liked on a date without them realizing it.

And without really thinking through what she was saying she reached forward and touched his hand again, blurting. "Natsu, be candid with me for a minute. Is this… a date?"

His eyes shot up in surprise to meet hers and they both froze. He looked a bit like a deer in the headlights and as she awaited his answer, she swore she could see the gears turning in his head as his eyes continued to lock with hers, a piercing seriousness in their depths. And without being prepared for the answer, he apparently got some sort of wave of courage and steeled his features. "Yes."

Everything seemed to go quiet. "Eh?" she peeped.

She'd expected something far different from that. First of all, she'd expected a no, or a scoff, or a laugh from him, but even if she'd expected him to say yes she'd expected him to… dance around it. Stutter, make excuses, _something_ , not just a simple… yes.

He stayed staring at her with the same amount of intensity as her mind went off in a frenzied craze, trying to make some sort of sense of all of this. It went from analyzing everything he'd said and done time and time again to trying to tell if he was playing some sort of joke on her but anyway it ended up, it appeared to Lucy that not only was he telling the truth, but the day she'd sort of dreamed about since she'd met this horribly lovely fire-breather had finally come.

And suddenly she had the words. "You thought I wouldn't want to go out on a date with you, so you told me Happy was coming." He looked embarrassed but gave one slight nod. She looked down at her hand, still on top of his and brushed her thumb across his fingers. "Well… you thought wrong."

There was only a slight beat of silence as she looked back up to meet his gaze before everything seemed to be understood. She sat back and he sat back and there was an unspoken agreement on something… although she couldn't put her finger on what. She'd confirmed his fears were unnecessary, in doing so letting him know she did in fact reciprocate whatever sort of feelings he had, although it still felt funny to think of Natsu having feelings for her, and so they'd reached some sort of peace.

She didn't have to tell him anything for him to know that they didn't need to talk about it anymore. Throughout dinner they didn't say a word about dates or about Happy coming or about what this dinner would mean. Instead, they talked about everything else.

Natsu asked Lucy questions that he'd apparently been curious about, and she did the same. She learned more about his upbringing, about Igneel, even about some of his regrets, fears, and happiest times in his life. She felt as if they'd reached some sort of mutual level, wanting to know more and be closer to each other as friends and as… maybe more than friends.

It was a peaceful and blissful night for her, and she had to admit as they paid for the check and left the restaurant, Natsu walking her back to her apartment, she was immensely sad it was over. But then again that feeling was almost overridden by a feeling of pure joy that it'd happened in the first place. Not just the discovery that apparently Natsu saw more in store for them than she'd imagined, but the truly deep conversation they'd had, one that she was absolutely positive she'd remember forever.

It seemed like just a second ago she'd been mulling over why on earthland her partner looked so sad, but here she was, opening her apartment door and letting out a sigh. It'd all gone by in the blink of an eye and she wished it would've slowed down even by just a little bit so she could've relished it longer.

She pushed open her door and stepped inside, tossing her keys into the bowl by the door and turning back to look at Natsu, standing on her doorstep. He had his hands in his pockets and a smile unlike any she'd seen on him before. He looked at ease, completely content in the moment and looking at her with a sparkle in his eyes she couldn't exactly place.

She rested her hand on the door handle and nodded. "I had a nice time tonight."

A bigger smile twitched at his lips. "So did I."

She took a deep breath and with a little courage said what she'd dreamed of telling him for some time now after a date. "I'm not quite sure what tonight meant for us, Natsu, but… I'd love to do this again."

She wasn't sure how to express her feelings, and it hadn't been _exactly_ what she'd wanted to say –she wanted to say she'd go out with him any day or time of the week- but it seemed right for the moment.

And again he seemed to understand what she meant on a deeper level. He didn't question what tonight meant, throwing them into a conversation that could end wonderfully or horribly, instead giving her a light nod of understanding and a small wink. "G'night, Luce." With that he turned on his heel to leave, and she watched him slowly saunter out of sight.

No, he hadn't made any move to start the "what does this mean for us" conversation, or make a reservation for their next date, or even to say he wanted to do it again as well. Instead, he left her on the bliss of the night they _had_ had together: the feeling that made her grin as wide as she could once she'd closed the door, pressing her forehead against it as her heart beat wildly in her chest, waiting and hoping of the things to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is the second half to "B". Just a little fun silly thing. :D Not sure what I want to do for D, since I want to stray away from the typical "dragon" or whatever. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! :D


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